No More Hiding Face

[S] Ezekiel 39:29 --
29 "I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD.

[O] God declares to His people about how He will no longer hide His face from them.  Instead, He will pour out His Spirit on the house of Israel.  God's word never fails and He never makes mistakes so this statement is really a powerful one because since that point on God will never give up on His people.  That is why Jesus Christ came to be sacrificed in place of our wrongful attitudes against God.

[A] His Spirit is already poured out on His people (church) and as I am part of that body, I am the recipient of His covenant of grace and mercy.  There is no doubt in this.

[P] Dear God, Your declaration of how You will never hide Your face from me is a great inspiration for me to carry on with my life, ministry, and career.  I am also so thankful for Your covenant because this means whatever happens to me, You will never let me go.  I love You and in gratitude I pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.

Jealous for His Name

[S] Ezekiel 39:25,29 --
 ²⁵Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, "Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. 
 ²⁹"I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD. 

[O] God is jealous for His holy name and for the sake of His name, He is going to restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on them as well.  He will also pour out His Spirit on the house of Israel.  The promise of God to the house of Israel was kept once again and God is quite serious about guarding His holy reputation.  This is not about His marketing plans but how His character itself does not allow anything less than that.

[A] How serious am I about guarding my own reputation as an ambassador of God?  I face a lot of different situations at workplace and there's a constant struggle between trying to make myself look good to others there vs. trying to make God look good.  What is the best way to do this when someone at work makes a negative comment about how some Christians are so dogmatic and condemns the "lost" people with pity?  It's not about getting into a discussion or argument but making God look good, right?  Need to keep seeking His wisdom.

[P] Dear God, may Your name continuously be holy and may my life continue to lift Your name up high so others will see how holy You are and that becoming a Christian is solely based on their own encounter with You and it's not about what others say or do (or don't do).  Please shine Your love through my life at my workplace.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Sinful Passions Aroused by the Law

[S] Romans 7:5 --  ⁵For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.

[O] The phrase "sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law" grabbed my attention because isn't Law supposed to keep us honest and away from sin?  I see a double-edges sword here because we need the Law to come to repentance by realizing the deviation from the perfectness of God's Laws but dwelling on that point will actually arouse us to sinful passions because we lack the grace of God in the whole equation.  In verse 6 Paul also says we ought to serve in newness of the Spirit and not the oldness in the letter.  So the letter (Law) without the Spirit (grace) will only push us away from what God desires from us.  Following the Law may look good to others but God who sees our hearts will not like it.

[A] Especially now as our small group ministry is approaching its 1 year mark, I'm seeing a lot of weariness from the leaders who have been trying their best to care and nurture the members in this pioneering phase of our church's small group ministry.  How can I convey the message of Paul here that we need to come together beyond the logistical aspects of our ministry and fall into the deeper presence of God's grace and the nurturing Spirit?  That is my homework.  I also need to pray for each of the leaders daily.

[P] Dear God, would you grant Your wisdom into my heart such that I would encourage these leaders to hold on and unite to come together in building up our small group ministry beyond this initial hump we're climbing over?  Thank You.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Words of Wisdom or Demonstration of Power?

[S] 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 --
⁴and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
⁵so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

[O] God's been pressing on my heart the importance of leaning on the power of God just like how Paul described in this passage. God called Paul to preach the gospel and that's what he focused on. I'm sure that he was already trained to do that with excellence, but he highlights the fact that his purpose clearly was to demonstrated the power of the Spirit and not power of his own eloquence because out of his love for his followers he wanted to make sure he does not become the object of their worship. Instead, he wanted their faith to be anchored in the power of God. There really is no other way to do ministry than to rely on the power of His Spirit.

[A] I'm faced with some "giants" in the land of small group ministry. I'm tempted to just take control and "fix it" but as this passage reminds me it's not about persuasive words of wisdom but the demonstration of the Spirit and of power of the Cross as we are heading toward Easter. I am praying that His power of healing, reconciliation, and forgiveness will shine through as we surrender all to Him.

[P] Dear God, You know where I am at now and You also know how I desire to be transparent so Your power will shine through the situations I'm facing now. Please lift up those who are wearied and worn and please infuse in our ministry the wonderful and miraculous power of Your Spirit which will only mark that this ministry belongs to You and You alone! In Jesus' name. Amen.

Prophesy, Dreams, Visions, Spirit of Power

[S] Joel 2:28; 2 Timothy 1:7 --
²⁸"It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.

⁷For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

[O] God desires to pour out His Spirit on us all. It's the spirit of power, love and discipline which brings for the prophesy, dreams and visions. So many times, I try to take part in God's ministry with the best of intentions and resources but bypass His Spirit thus omitting the power, prophesy, dreams and visions in the process resulting in doing His work by my own power rather than having Him work through me. As I am putting my efforts of laying the foundational structure for a small group ministry at my church I'm clinging on to these two verses because in the end I desire His dreams and visions will be what the congregation will catch and by the size of those dreams/visions God will send the workers needed who will carry on the ministry with the spirit of power, love and discipline.

[A] Pray daily for His Spirit to lead me in this effort.

[P] Dear God, I just love 2 Timothy 1:7 because You have not given me a spirit of timidity but of power! Praise You and I will carry on with one who has received such power. In Jesus' name. Amen.